Increasing COVID-19 cases in the region have led to cancelled surgeries at the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
Victoria Hospital and University Hospital nixed several surgeries earlier this week citing rising pressure from the pandemic and "potential human resource constraints."
"LHSC continues to plan for the possibility of a surge of COVID-19 patients, with a tiered response plan that is frequently reviewed and adjusted with our local and regional partners," Emil Schemitsch, chief of the department of surgery at the LHSC, said in a statement. "With the fluidity of our needs and capacity, we revisit planned surgical volumes for all surgical services at least daily. This can unfortunately result in the cancellation of scheduled surgeries."
On Monday and Tuesday, two operating rooms at the Surgi-Centre, a low-risk day-surgery facility on Baseline Road, were closed. Victoria Hospital was down to ten operating rooms, while University Hospital had only seven open. LHSC has more than 30 operating rooms between the two hospitals.
However, more operating rooms were scheduled to be open on Wednesday, including two ambulatory operating rooms at Victoria Hospital, two at the Surgi Centre and two University Hospital. Those are in addition to the facilities that were in operating earlier in the week, Schemitsch noted.
"Canceling surgeries and reducing volumes is not something we want to do, and not a decision we take lightly," said Schemitsch. "We urge all members of our community to do their part to help mitigate these outcomes. Wear a mask, wash your hands, practice physical distancing, and please do not interact with anyone outside of your immediate household."
Patients whose scheduled surgery is affected by the reduced operating capacity are being contacted directly.
